Header bidding has revolutionized the way that programmatic advertising functions. Before the technology, only certain buyers had access to inventory while having no idea of what they were buying. With header bidding, transparency has been given within the ad tech ecosystem, allowing publishers to offer all of their inventory to buyers. eMarketer sat down with eBay’s director of product management to get his insights on the future of header bidding.

Blockchain technology has the potential revolutionize programmatic advertising. Blockchain technology could streamline the quality assurance process between advertisers and publishers. This could also minimize a lot of back and forth between trading desk, publishers, and brands. According to NASDAQ, blockchain-based verification systems are already in use and are on the rise.

Ad fraud has some CMOs skeptical about programmatic advertising. Instead, marketers are using platforms such as Facebook and Google over programmatic as they know where their dollars are going. Digiday explains how programmatic has it’s place in digital marketing however the technology alone cannot account for all branding and storytelling.

Facebook now has a way for advertisers to target consumers offline. The social media platform recently announced that businesses can now build audiences of of people who have made offline purchases. With the new tool, advertisers can also create lookalike audiences of potential shoppers based on recent in-store visits. AdExchanger explains how shoppers are expecting for brands to track their shopping behavior.

Facebook is increasing transparency and giving advertisers more control over where ads show up. The platform recently announced that they will tighten guidelines on the type of content that can be monetized. With that, publishers must prove themselves credible and sites featuring misinformation or fake news will be blocked from monetizing. AdExchanger explains the changes in greater detail and how Facebook’s lack of transparency in the past pushed big advertisers away.

Bratwurst, beer, and even tattoos being done onsite. Throughout the amazing experiences offered to attendees at DMEXCO 2017, ad tech and its ever growing landscape remained the constant. Hot topics including viewability, transparency, and GDPR were the focus of the thousands of publishers, advertisers, and ad tech companies in attendance.Although I had a great time in Cologne connecting with partners; customer experiences were the key focus of DMEXCO. Here are my takeaways:

Twitter-owned MoPub has recently updated their software, allowing publishers to provide better measurement to advertisers. With advertisers under intense pressure to measure performance, MoPub has integrated with Integral Ad Science as well as Moat to provide specifications. With viewability being a top metric, The Drum details how ad tech is shifting towards more measurement standards.

As Google works towards offering marketers more transparency, they are issuing refunds for ads thatran on websites with fake traffic. These ads were brought using Google’s DoubleClick Bid Manager. Google has also offered to reimburse its “platform fee,” which typically accounts for up to 10% of a total ad buying purchase. While this may seem like a honorable move by Google, The Wall Street Journal details how some advertising advertising are unsatisfied with the gesture.

Header bidding is seeing growth within mobile channels. According to a report published by PubMatic, mobile header bidding has grown 285% year-on-year Q2. The largest spike was seen among news publishers. The Drum breaks down the report including how the industry-wide focus on transparency and the use of PMPs is being credited for the rise.

Ever wonder what it's like to be an engineer at growing ad tech company? Of course you have! In this edition of Friday Fives we're featuring Amey Bordikar, our VP of Engineering. From ad tech challenges to recruitment efforts, Amey gives us the deets on all things engineering, and Netflixbinge-watching.